Details matter. They create depth, and depth creates authenticity.
Neil Blumenthal
A startup is a company working to solve a problem where the solution is not obvious and success is not guaranteed.
Avoid the 'squeaky wheel gets the grease' habit of overreacting to the loudest feedback. The first time you hear a particular piece of feedback, treat it like a clue and do some investigating. Find out how deep it goes - maybe it stops at the surface and won't be an issue, maybe not.
A workplace that encourages self-awareness is an environment where the most productive, curious, and innovative people thrive.
Every generation trash-talks younger generations. Baby boomers labeled Generation X a group of tattooed slackers and materialists; Generation Xers have branded millennials as iPhone-addicted brats.
At Warby Parker, we say that we're customer focused but medium agnostic.
At its best, entrepreneurship creates jobs, solves problems, and galvanizes creative thinking.
I came to Washington primarily to meet other entrepreneurs. That being said, I was also curious to hear how our federal government was thinking about entrepreneurship.
Self-awareness is a trait - or maybe 'practice' is the more accurate way to put it - that everyone can always improve at. It is part emotional intelligence, part perceptiveness, part critical thinking. It means knowing your weaknesses, of course, but it also means knowing your strengths and what motivates you.
People who are passionate about Warby Parker are passionate about creating a company that can scale, be profitable, and do good in the world - without charging a premium for it.
It never gets old watching someone receive their first pair of glasses and regain their vision and their life.
There are two elements to nailing a job interview: form and substance. 'Form' describes the outer layer of your character - your manners, your demeanor, your social skills. 'Substance' describes the inner core of your character - your intellect, your empathy, your creativity.
If you think about what are glasses, they are the best example of form and function.
By creating a feedback culture within your office, you ensure that people continue to learn, grow, and challenge themselves.
Venture capital is an inherently optimistic form of investment - which is both its primary strength and its primary weakness.
When it comes to marketing, creative resources are often worth far more than dollars.
Be personable to everyone you interact with.
For better or worse, cash is the oxygen of your business, and you can't last long in any environment without it.
Social enterprise is at its most impactful when the goal is empowerment, not relief.
Businesses should focus on solving problems, putting the customer first, delivering value - not gimmicks - and growing in a sustainable manner.
I was captain of the soccer and basketball teams in high school, and I was the equivalent of class president.
My goal is to get in bed by 11. That rarely happens. But I celebrate when it does happen.
Young people entering the job market seek employment at companies with values that match theirs.
The trick to maximizing your team's productivity is to create a workspace that's flexible, so it can be altered according to the ever-changing needs of the company and its team members.
Creativity flows when curiosity is stoked.
A good collaboration pushes the boundaries of both partners.
It's not easy to keep good sleep habits as an entrepreneur, especially at the early stages when there's always a fire to put out.
Within an office, it's important to create opportunities for anonymous feedback.
The idea that you don't spam people with five emails a day or that you offer free shipping just seemed obvious to us, because that's how we want to be treated as consumers.
Just as a company needs a strategy to capture market share, a company needs a strategy to encourage actions that reflect their core values.
I personally try to buy the best-quality items at the best price that do the least harm and from companies that are striving to do good - many of those companies are run by young entrepreneurs.
It may seem premature, but you need to be thinking of your exit from the moment you accept capital, because at that moment, you've made an explicit agreement with an investor that he or she will eventually be able to gain liquidity.
Millennials are eager to make an impact, which makes them ideal for start-ups.
At Warby Parker, we moved our focus to promotion only after we'd spent time creating our product, a user-friendly website, and an on-the-ball customer experience team.
If you're entitled, you likely think you know more than you do.
Every day, write down a few frustrations. And then at the end of the week, you'll have maybe 10 problems. By the end of the month, maybe you have 40 to 50 problems. And then you can spend time thinking about, Is there a viable business in solving any of these everyday frustrations?
My grandfathers on both sides were entrepreneurs.
When my three co-founders and I started Warby Parker in 2010, our primary intention was to sell good-looking, affordable eyewear online.
For any collaboration to work, each partner must have a strong sense of identity. If one overpowers the other, it's like mixing lemonade with water - you wind up diluting the brew.
We all have a personal recipe for productivity. One person may need six cups of autonomy and just a pinch of collaboration. Another person may require heaps of sociability and noise, with just a teaspoon of occasional privacy.
All companies - and not just startups - face the same eternal challenge: resource allocation.
When you look at the reasons people leave companies, it's usually because their boss is a jerk or because they aren't learning and growing.
It's never easy asking for help.
On the day it launched, Warby Barker received more than twice as many visits as our regular site.
Every moment contains an opportunity to create feelings of satisfaction and excitement in a customer. It's up to retailers to make it happen.
The key to an ideal workplace, in one hyphenated word, is this: self-awareness.
When another editorial pops up denouncing millennials for some perceived generational flaw, I take it with a Miley Cyrus-sized grain of salt.
Walking in the morning improves my whole day. I think more clearly, my points of view are sharper, and I'm more decisive.
Exploring emerging technologies like new refraction technology will enable people to get prescriptions cheaper and more conveniently, which will, in turn, provide increased access to prescription glasses.
At Warby Parker, we use the survey platform Culture Amp to take employee engagement surveys that help us become ultra-responsive to the needs of our teams.
